The Brief

As Congress remains at an impasse on an agreement to fund government operations, several sites under the National Park Service (NPS) have brought their operations to a halt.

Across the country, parks have been forced to close, operate under reduced staffing or rely on outside donations to keep the lights on as the shutdown continues.

The lack of a unified plan across all parks and sparse details outlined by official government resources has sparked confusion about which places parkgoers can visit or if the shutdown has caused sites to temporarily shutter their services.

"National parks remain as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown," a notice on the NPS website reads.

"However, some services may be limited or unavailable," it continues, with a link directing readers to a site with contingency plans outlining how funds would be appropriated during the shutdown.

A contingency plan for the NPS says that park roads, lookouts and trails "will generally remain accessible to visitors" for the duration of the shutdown, but other services such as regular road and trail condition updates would not be provided.

"As part of their orderly shutdown activities, park staff will post signs notifying visitors that only basic or no visitor services, maintenance, or other management activities will be conducted, and emergency services will be limited," according to the plan.

At some park locations that collect fees, the memo stipulates that basic services can be provided such as those that maintain restrooms, collect trash and road maintenance.

But at some closed park locations, services will be stripped to the bone, including no trash collection, restrooms, road or walkway maintenance or visitor information.

NPR reached out to the NPS on Saturday for comment but has not received a response.

States step in and donations for some relief

Several states have taken it into their own hands to see to it that their parks remain open during the federal funding spat, either directly funding the sites themselves or collecting third-party relief to help keep the doors open.

According to National Parks Traveler , parks in states including West Virginia, Utah and Hawaii, have managed to secure funds and donations necessary to keep operations temporarily rolling.

Visitors in other states have not been so lucky.

Kathy Ten Eyck flew from Utica, New York into New Mexico to visit the glistening dunes of White Sands National Park. Instead, she was met with a notice of closure.

"I just couldn't wait — could not wait to — get here," Ten Eyck said. "We stopped at the [PistachioLand] right up the street there, and that's where we heard that it was closed."

Kathy Theriot was similarly heartbroken outside of the New Mexico Park. She had driven her children more than five hours from their home in Taos and hoped that they could experience the white sands she remembered from her childhood.

"I've been waiting 10 years to show my kids White Sands and the day we come it's closed, which is very disappointing," Theriot said.

"But it is really, really sad though that we get to the side of the road to enjoy part of our country because our elected officials can't get along."

Vandalism and safety concerns

In this Jan. 10, 2019 file photo people visit Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert.

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Concerns have also been raised about the safety and responsibility of keeping parks open without having a robust number of employees available to conduct critical services.

Some of Texas' famed national parks, such as Big Bend and Padre Island National Seashore, will remain open during this time but may have limited staffing, according to Texas Public Radio (TPR).

A previous government shutdown, TPR reported, saw an ancient rock at Big Bend vandalized amid the lack of staffing.

Those concerns have caused some park advocates to recommend all parks with a reduction in force be closed until federal funding is sorted.

"Keeping our national parks open after Trump and Republicans forced a government shutdown is stupid, short-sighted and incredibly dangerous," said Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement .

"We've seen the irreparable harm that can happen when our parks go understaffed. Vandalism, trash and human waste will tarnish natural treasures that are the envy of the world. But apparently nothing says 'Make America Great Again' like turning Yosemite into one giant toilet."

During the last government shutdown , which began in December 2018 during Trump's previous administration and lasted a record 35 days, several of America's beloved national parks reported significant damage, including California's Joshua Tree National Park , which saw trees cut down and new roads illegally dug in.

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has also called for parks to be closed, citing past problems during government shutdowns that led to vandalism, sanitation issues and ecological harm.

"The government has shut down, and the administration is once again putting our national parks and visitors at risk, effectively directing staff to open park gates and walk away," NPCA president and CEO Theresa Pierno said in a statement . "It's not just irresponsible, it's dangerous."

NPR's Ava Pukatch contributed to this report.
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As a kid growing up in Las Vegas, Cleto Escobedo and his best friend delighted in playing pranks together.

"We kind of had the same sense of humor," he recalled in a 2022 oral history interview with Texas Tech University . "We'd mess with people on the Strip, and if it'd rain, maybe we'd go splash people with puddles in my car when I was a teenager."

And they watched a lot of comedy. "We were big David Letterman fans when we were kids," he said.

Just like their idol, his friend, Jimmy Kimmel, grew up to host a late-night TV show. And Kimmel delivered a heartfelt monologue Tuesday night paying tribute to Escobedo.

"Late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special, who was much too young to go," Kimmel said, near tears. He did not disclose the cause of Escobedo's death, but thanked doctors and nurses at UCLA Medical Center for taking care of his friend.

"Cleto was a phenomenal saxophone player from a very young age," Kimmel said. "He was a child prodigy. He would get standing ovations in junior high school, if you can imagine that."

Escobedo grew up in a musical household. His father worked for years as a professional musician, and the younger Escobedo first started studying saxophone in sixth grade, because his father already had an instrument at home. He enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, played in bar bands — "anything from country to Phil Collins," he said in the oral history — and in 1990, successfully auditioned to tour with superstar Paul Abdul.

"Through her, I got a record deal with Virgin Records," he said. "It was kind of a Latin-y, pop, R&B record. It was kind of like the Latin Explosion record a little too early. I did some stuff in Spanglish, but it was more like a pop, funk-y kind of stuff."

Although the album did not lead to a solo career, Escobedo worked steadily, performing with musicians such as Luis Miguel and Marc Anthony. Kimmel hired Escobedo's band, Cleto and the Cletones, to back him up when ABC launched Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003. The band included Escobedo's father, and the two, Kimmel said, were particularly proud to be what they believed to be the only father-son team performing together on late night television.

"Everyone loves Cleto," Kimmel said in his monologue. "Everyone here in this show is devastated by this. It's just not fair. He was the nicest, most humble, kind and always funny person."

Kimmel expressed sympathy for Escobedo's surviving family members, including his parents, wife and two children. He signed off with the words: "Cherish your friends."
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Long Beach will look for ways to boost police presence in Belmont Shore and better regulate alcohol-sellers citywide, but officials will not seek to impose a yearlong midnight curfew on Second Street bars.

The decision came after a lengthy discussion at a City Council meeting Tuesday night, where Belmont Shore residents said something must be done about intoxicated, unruly crowds that spill over into their neighborhood.

In the past two years, resident Mike Anderson said, a drunk driver crashed through the brick wall guarding his front yard, and both of his adult children had their parked cars damaged by hit-and-run drivers.

In another case, Anderson said he walked out to a car parked in front of his house that was blaring music, and when he asked the two men in the car if they could lower the volume, one flashed a gun and told Anderson to mind his own business.

He was one of more than 20 neighbors and business owners who demanded action from the City Council. The push for a crackdown came after the killing of 32-year-old Jeremy Spears , who police said was in an altercation at a bar before his death. It was the third killing in two years on or near Second Street.

Brandon Webb is seated next to a memorial on La Verne Avenue for his cousin, Jermey Spears, who was shot and killed near Second Street over the weekend in Long Beach, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025.

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In response, the area’s City Councilmember, Kristina Duggan, proposed exploring a temporary midnight curfew for bars, boosting DUI enforcement, studying the cost of reestablishing a Belmont Shore police substation, and targeting public drinking and street vending, which she said encourages people to linger after last call.

Duggan said she was on Second Street from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. last Friday and saw “at least 20” people with open alcohol containers. She pressed Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish on why his officers didn’t cite people for public drinking that night.

Hebeish promised to look into it, but said officers cite at their own discretion.

Duggan said the widespread pubic drinking, unregulated street vending and prevalence of people blaring loud music have led to “unmanaged crowds of intoxicated people in public spaces for extended periods, creating opportunities for conflict.”

She proposed a yearlong curfew for any businesses that sell alcohol along Second Street while the city works out a longer-term plan, but she agreed to scrap that idea when it received pushback. City staff, she said, told her it would take months to implement, and several City Council members said any plan needed to apply citywide, not just on Second Street.

“You’re right — and your residents have shared here — Belmont shore is a special place, but the truth is our entire city is also a special place,” District 8 Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said.

She said gun violence was not isolated to Belmont Shore, pointing out that there have been 11 homicides in the city’s northern police division this year compared to one in its eastern division.

“Our response to this can’t be piecemeal,” she said. “We can not be siloed in how we respond.”

Ultimately, the City Council voted unanimously, directing City Manager Tom Modica to report back to the City Council in 45 days on the feasibility of increased DUI patrols, adding more police officers during high-traffic hours and increased enforcement against public drinking and unpermitted street vendors.

Modica will also return in 90 days with the findings of how the city can better regulate alcohol-related establishments and smoke shops citywide.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Duggan said she was “disappointed” by the changes; she hoped to focus on the specific issues along Second Street, which presents a unique regulatory challenge because many of its longstanding bars are grandfathered in under old rules that give them more leeway.

Meanwhile, the four bars in Belmont Shore that currently stay open until 2 a.m. — Shannon’s Bayshore Saloon, Dogz Bar & Grill, Legends Restaurant & Sports Bar and Panama Joe’s — have agreed to voluntarily close each night at midnight.

The bars plan to resume “normal operations” after Dec. 7, said John Edmond, a spokesman hired by the bars. Their owners are exploring implementing universal safety measures and staggered closing times to mitigate some of the safety concerns, Edmond said.

The House of Representatives is expected to approve a funding bill on Wednesday that would bring an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The measure, which extends funding levels for much of the government through Jan. 30, also includes a trio of appropriation bills that would fully fund some federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through Sept. 30, 2026. Payments for SNAP, which provides food assistance to nearly 42 million people, have been locked in a court fight as a result of the shutdown.

The Senate approved the legislation late Monday , with seven Democrats and one Independent joining most Republicans. The bill includes a provision to reverse the layoffs the Trump administration imposed during the shutdown.

Most Democrats on Capitol Hill angrily denounced the deal because it failed to address the central issue prompting the standoff — how to address health care subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year.

As part of the compromise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to hold a vote by mid-December on legislation Democrats will craft to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Some Republicans agree Congress needs to do something to head off steep premium increases for those relying on the subsidies, but it's unclear there are enough GOP votes to pass a bill through the chamber. Even if a deal comes together in the next few weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has declined to guarantee a vote.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attends a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.

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New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a moderate who helped broker the deal with Thune, told reporters on Monday that the shutdown increased political pressure on the GOP to negotiate some solution on health care.

"If the Republicans don't come to the table, if Donald Trump, who claims he can make a deal, is not willing to say to Speaker Johnson, 'you need to have a vote, you need to get something done,' then come next election, in the midterms, the American people are going to hold them accountable and we are going to continue to make this an issue."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., panned the deal shortly before the Senate passed it, and urged House Democrats to vote no.

"We're not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people," Jeffries said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries,D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference Monday on Capitol Hill.

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Jeffries and other opponents of the deal argue the results of last week's elections , which featured big Democratic wins in gubernatorial contests and other local elections, sent a signal that voters backed the shutdown strategy, and wanted action on health care.

Hill Republicans maintain that flight delays due to staffing shortages and disruption in government services over several weeks will harm Democrats who blocked bills to reopen the government. But President Trump suggested after GOP candidates were defeated last week that the shutdown harmed the party.

With the midterm elections a year away it's unclear just how far the longest shutdown on record will factor into voters' decisions, especially if concerns about the economy persist.
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The competition schedule for the Olympics is out, more than two years ahead of the 2028 Games.

The extensive program, released by Olympics organizing committee LA28 this morning, lays out the dates, times and locations of all competitions for 51 sports taking place across Southern California (and as far as Oklahoma City).

The first Olympic winner will be named at the women's triathlon in Venice Beach on the morning of July 15 — the first day of the Games and the day after the opening ceremony. The last will be more than two weeks later, July 30, when the men's and women's medley relay finals and other swimming finals will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The closing ceremonies will take place the same day at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park.

The 2028 Games have flipped the traditional Olympic schedule to start with track and field and end with swimming. On a press call, LA28 executive Shana Ferguson said that's because SoFi Stadium is one of the venues hosting the Opening Ceremonies, and the site of all swimming competitions.

"In order to transition from opening ceremonies to swimming, we just couldn't do it," Ferguson said.

Olympics schedulers considered summer weather

Ferguson called developing the competition schedule a "painstaking process" that took months of coordinating with the International Olympic Committee and 36 international sports federations, which manage individual sports.

The Games will come to Los Angeles in the middle of summer, and Ferguson said LA28 considered heat and sunshine when it laid out the schedule.

" Some of the timings were made based on having a little bit later session in the evenings for cooling for fans and for athletes, as well as sun position, water tides, water quality," she said. "When we're having a diving competition outside, we have to think about the position of the sun so as to not distract the athletes."

Diving will take place at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena . Those competitions are scheduled either in the morning or afternoon, with a gap between 12:30 and 2 p.m.

Equestrian competition also has been scheduled with the summer heat in mind.

Those competitions will take place at the Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, either in the morning or late afternoon. Ferguson said that's for the horses — and also the fans.

" We are also thinking about, quite frankly, how quickly we can get 'em into the venue, right?" she said. "We don't want them necessarily standing outside in long lines for too long. Let's get them inside where it's shaded."

Schedule highlights

July 29, will be the busiest day of Olympic Competition, with 26 finals in marathon, boxing, swimming, table tennis and many more.

The first day of competition will have the most women's finals, including the triathlon and 100-meter and women's rugby sevens.

You can find the detailed competition schedule here . The Paralympic schedule hasn't been released yet.

When can I get tickets? And how much will they cost?

Fans will be able to register for tickets starting in January . They'll cost as little as $28.